Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Book-smart Melissa Fletcher lives a
predictable life in her hometown, working behind the scenes for her
charismatic father in a financial career that makes perfect sense. But
when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up
and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.

After
her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises
her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any
risks in life.

Devastated, Missy packs her suitcase and heads for
Italy. There she meets a new friend who proposes a radical idea. Soon,
Missy finds herself in impoverished India, signing away her inheritance
and betting on a risky plan while rekindling a lost love.

The Light of Hidden Flowers
is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our
boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s
never too late to pursue our dreams.

My Review:

A thought provoking tale of self discovery.

Melissa “Missy” Fletcher was always a good girl and her father’s
pride and joy.At thirty-five, she has a
successful career as a financial adviser working with her father.She doesn’t care for socializing after work
or dating.She prefers her predictable
life as it is, working and then going home alone.When
she is introduced to Lucas, she decides to give him a chance and they start
dating and get serious.But there is one
man that Missy will never get out of her head, Joe, her high school
boyfriend.What if they could have a
second chance?

When Missy loses her father to Alzheimer’s, her world is
turned upside down.She starts second
guessing everything in her life.She decides
to give into one of her biggest fears, flying.She takes a trip to Italy, a place she always wanted to visit.During the trip, she meets a young lady,
Reina, who works for UNICEF.When Missy
learns what Reina does, it sets her mind in motion. From Italy, Missy heads to India to meet with
Reina again.Together they make life changing plans for
some underprivileged girls and Missy finally finds a new life for herself and
one that would make her father very proud.

I thought the story was very well thought out and it is one
that will stay with me for a long time.I
enjoyed the reunion between Missy and Joe and how well Missy got along with Joe’s
daughter Katherine who needed a meaning in her life as well.The only issue I had with this book was the
ending.I felt it ended abruptly and more could have been added to wrap up the story.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Thursday, December 10, 2015

The new novel by the author of I Smile Back, now a film starring Sarah Silverman.

The acclaimed author of I Smile Back,
Amy Koppelman is a novelist of astonishing power, with a sly, dark
voice, at once fearless and poetic. In Koppelman’s new novel, Dr.
Susanna Seliger is a renowned psychiatrist who specializes in
treatment-resistant depression. The most difficult cases come through
her door, and Susa is always ready to discuss treatment options,
medication, and symptom management but draws the line at engaging with
feelings. A strict adherence to protocol keeps her from falling apart.

But
her past is made present by one patient, Jim, whose struggles tear open
Susa’s hastily stitched up wounds, revealing her latent feeling that
she could have helped the people closest to her, especially her adored,
cool, talented graffiti-artist brother. Spectacularly original,
gorgeously unsettling, HESITATION WOUNDS is a novel that will sink deep and remain—like a persistent scar or a dangerous glow-in-the-dark memory.

My Review:

Dr. Susanna "Susa" Seliger is a highly respected
psychiatrist who takes on some of the most difficult cases.But what most people don’t know is Susa still
struggles with the death of her brother.While working with one patient, Jim, the memories of Daniel’s tragic
death are brought back to Susa and she knows it’s time to sort them out.

Susa has learned over the years that the people she loves
always leave, either by death or the end of a relationship.She also struggles with the feeling that something
is missing in her life. When she finally
realizes what is missing, the pieces start coming together.

This book is a roller coaster of emotions. My heart went out to Susa and all she had
endured during her life.She works hard trying
to help other people while her own memories haunt her. The story felt very true
to life. At first I didn't know what to
make of the writing style as it is different from what I am used to, but I
caught on quickly. This book is incredibly
thought provoking and will stay with you for a long time.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

An unforgettable story about true love, real life, and second chances…

Rachel
Blum and Andy Landis are just eight years old when they meet one night
in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a
veteran of hospitals, and she’s intrigued by the boy who shows up alone
with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After
Andy’s taken back to a doctor and Rachel’s sent back to her bed, they
think they’ll never see each other again.

Rachel grows up in an
affluent Florida suburb, the popular and protected daughter of two
doting parents. Andy grows up poor in Philadelphia with a single mom and
a rare talent for running.

Yet, over the next three decades,
Andy and Rachel will meet again and again—linked by chance, history, and
the memory of the first time they met, a night that changed the course
of both of their lives.

A sweeping, warmhearted, and intimate tale, Who Do You Love
is an extraordinary novel about the passage of time, the way people
change and change each other, and how the measure of a life is who you
love.

My Review:

Everyone has heard the saying “you never forget your first
love”.Life often takes us down
different roads and first loves rarely work out.But
what if you were given a second chance?

In this book we meet Rachel Blum and Andy Landis, total
opposites, who meet as children and then part ways never expecting to see each
other again.But, they do meet again as
teenagers, during a youth group trip where they helped build houses for low
income families.That is when they fell
in love.Living in different states made
it hard to see each other, so they stayed in touch writing letters and talking
on the phone until they could see each other again. During college, Andy would visit Rachel when
he had free time.Then one day everything
fell apart and they stopped talking.

The rest of the book focuses on their lives as
individuals.Along the way there is new
love, children, careers and a big mistake that is made.And just when they both think they have hit
their lowest point, there is hope on the horizon.

I enjoyed Rachel and Andy’s story and how you got an in
depth look into their lives and how it created their personalities.Andy grew up with a single mother who
struggled to make ends meet.Rachel was
a rich girl who had pretty much anything she wanted.They both had different goals in life.They both had different religious beliefs. Andy got in fights and in trouble a lot and
Rachel was the good girl.But when they
were together, none of that mattered.They
brought out the best in each other.I
liked everything about the story.I just
think the ending could have had a little more to it.I wasn’t ready to part with Rachel and Andy
yet.I felt a few more pages could have
wrapped up their story better.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Media Mogul, Cormac Sheenan, had no desire to become a family man, but
when his two year old goddaughter, Daisy, is orphaned, he adopts her,
moving her from Montana to his home in Southern California, and becomes a
devoted single father, juggling parenting duties with running his
successful publishing, TV, and radio enterprise.

But two years later a frightening incident at Daisy’s school, shakes
Cormac, and he decides to move Daisy–and his business–back to Montana
where life is simpler and he has family nearby.

Now four, precocious Daisy strikes up an unlikely friendship with
Marietta’s seasonal Santa Claus, and believes he’s the real thing, even
though Cormac points out to her that this jolly old Kris Kringle is
renting a room at Bramble House, not living at the North Pole. Daisy’s
not worried but Cormac is as Rent-a-Santa has promised his innocent
daughter she’ll have a mommy for Christmas.

Cormac is livid with Kris. He’s not at all ready to settle down,
and he’s definitely not getting back together with his old flame Whitney
Alder, so Santa can stop playing match maker as it’d take a miracle to
make him fall in love, never mind marriage material.

But that’s exactly the kind of miracle our angelic Santa Claus has planned…

Taming of the Sheenans seriesBook 1: Christmas at Copper Mountain
Book 2: Tycoon's Kiss
Book 3: The Kidnapped Christmas Bride
Book 4: Taming of the Bachelor
Book 5: A Christmas Miracle for Daisy

My Review:

If you read only one Christmas book this year, let this be
the one.

After a tragedy occurs at Daisy’s school, media mogul and
single dad Cormac Sheenan's decides it's time to leave California and move back
home to the safe small town of Marietta, Montana.He is also relocating his company’s corporate
offices to Marietta.

Whitney Alder, Creative Directer of Sheenan Media, once
loved Cormac, but he broke her heart and she prefers to keep her distance from
him.She doesn't want to move back to
Montana where she was raised.There are
too many painful memories there.

With some persuasion, Whitney agrees to go to Marietta, but
only temporarily, to help prepare the office for the employees and spend some
time with Daisy, her god-daughter.

Working with Cormac gets to be difficult for Whitney when
she feels the attraction growing between them again.She loves Daisy and enjoys the time she gets
to spend with her, but is it worth it when she has to see Cormac every day?

Christmas is a time for happiness and miracles often
happen.Will there be a miracle in
Marietta for Whitney, Cormac and Daisy?

This heartwarming tale had me hooked from the very
beginning.Daisy was the perfect little
girl and Cormac a wonderful father who will do anything to keep her safe and
happy.Whitney’s struggles with her
feelings for Cormac felt very real. I
could easily picture the town of Marietta in my mind as I read the book.I also loved Kris Krinkle.He was the perfect addition to the
story.All around this is a sweet story
not to be missed.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

The first thing I noticed was how sturdy and well designed the
scratcher was.The bottom of the
scratcher has a long base which easily slips under your couch or other
furniture that you wish to protect.The
sisal was attached tightly unlike some poles that you buy and it slides the
first time your cat uses it.They also sell a carpeted version. The top has is a cup holder that will
definitely come in handy.The cup holder
comes off and you can add a catnip filter pack to attract you cat to the
scratcher.The catnip scent is released
through the cylinder.

I smell Catnip

I am impressed with the amount of thought put into these
scratchers.I think it will be a
lifesaver for my couch.

I also like the fact that each scratcher handmade in the
USA by disabled veterans.At the end of each year, a portion of all
sales will be donated to several pet rescue and anti-declawing organizations.

I would like to thank The Conscious Cat for offering this fabulous prize in one of their giveaways and Kool Kitty Toys for this fabulous new invention.